Schutzstaffel uniforms and insignia
SS uniforms and insignia were used by the Nazi SS, from the 1930s to 1945 and the resurgence organization of the Ekosian-SS three hundred and twenty years later. Uniforms The original SS used two main uniforms, this being a black jacket and cap during the 1930s and a field grey tunic during World War II. SS members were granted the same medals of Nazi Germany as the Wehrmacht and the SS displayed rank in the form of a collar patch which was paired with a corresponding shoulder board. ( ; ) Image:Ekosian SS lieutenant in helmet.jpg|Field Grey Waffen-SS uniform Image:Ekosian Gestapo lieutenant.jpg|Black Allgemeine-SS uniform Standard SS form was to display rank insignia on one collar, and an SS unit patch on the other. Most of the SS wore a "lightning bolt" SS unit patch, however certain SS units were entitled to wear a Death's Head insignia. SS colonels and generals wore rank insignia on both collars and did not display a unit insignia patch. ( ; ) Image:SSRunes.jpg|Standard SS insignia Image:DHPatch.jpg|SS Death's Head insignia Image:NumberedSS.jpg|Numbered SS insignia wearing a rare pattern brown SS shirt]] On Ekos, the SS personnel used uniforms identical to Earth but mixed grey and black uniforms at the same time, with the Ekosian Gestapo using the black uniform as their standard attire. The Ekosians also had a rarer type of SS uniform, which appeared as a brown Nazi Party shirt with SS insignia, as well as an SS unit insignia patch which displayed the number "1". ( ) :The brown SS uniform was used by the real Nazis from 1925 to 1929 before it was replaced with the black jacket and cap. The numbered SS patch was used in the mid 1930s by military SS units then called the SS-Verfungstruppe, later to become the Waffen-SS. The Ekosian-SS also used collar patches and shoulder boards to display rank but, unlike the German SS, the collar ranks and shoulder boards did not always pair up. For instance, an Ekosian SS member could wear the collar patch of a private, and the shoulder boards of a Colonel. ( ) German SS insignia Ekosian SS insignia Collar insignia Shoulder insignia Background The four pip rank of SS-Major (Sturmbannführer) has never been seen on screen, although an Ekosian-SS Major was seen wearing the insignia for Colonel. There are at least three examples of Ekosian SS members wearing collar insignia which do not match the corresponding shoulder board. This may indicate that the Ekosian SS is divided into sub-groups, much like the Waffen-SS and Allgemeine-SS, with the Ekosian collar patch indicating membership in one branch of the SS while the shoulder board indicates membership in the other. The matter is complicated by some Ekosian-SS displaying the correct shoulder/collar combination as well as Dr. McCoy wearing the correct uniform for an SS colonel even though the same insignia was referred to previously as an SS major. Dialog in the episode gives little reference to the Ekosian rank scheme or the reasons for these differences. Image:Ekosian torturer.jpg|Ekosian SS torturer wears private collar insignia and officer shoulder boards Image:Ekosian SS-colonel.jpg|Ekosian SS major wearing Colonel insignia on one collar (normally worn on both) Image:Kirk dessed in Nazi attire.jpg|James T. Kirk dressed in an SS officer uniform with private insignia :The mis-matching of the Ekosian-SS insignia was the result of the episode costume department assembling SS uniforms from various German stock uniforms without much attention paid to proper display of rank. External links * * Category:Clothing Category:Insignia